Advertising Incident Reporting System

About the Advertising Incident Reporting System

The Advertising Incident Reporting System (AIRS) is a public-interest initiative of the Institute for Advertising Ethics designed to identify, organize, and analyze emerging risks in advertising.

AIRS documents incidents involving artificial intelligence, deceptive or undisclosed advertising, influencer practices, privacy and data use, platform integrity, and other issues affecting trust in the advertising marketplace. Each record is intended to connect the incident to supporting evidence, relevant categories, and broader governance questions.

Initially launched as a weekly alpha report, AIRS is being developed within the IAE Governance Lab as a durable, searchable resource. The next phase is expected to include standardized incident records, consistent classifications, submission and review processes, and tools for identifying recurring risks and emerging patterns.

AIRS is not an enforcement body and inclusion does not constitute a legal judgment. Its purpose is to support industry learning, research, education, market discipline, and continuous improvement in advertising governance.



By making incidents easier to examine collectively rather than in isolation, AIRS seeks to help advertisers, agencies, platforms, researchers, educators, policymakers, and civil-society organizations better understand where advertising systems are failing—and how they can be improved.